How Do You Deal With Burnout at Work?

Work hard enough for long enough and eventually,
you'll hit burnout
. It happens, but it's never convenient for your boss. So, how do you let your employer know that you need a break before
you
break?

Advice site The Muse has a few suggestions for having that awkward conversation with your boss when you're getting burnt out. They suggest starting by talking with a friend or confidante who can give you some perspective and hashing out what you really need:

Before talking with your boss, a great first step is to confide in a friend or speak with your partner or a family member about where you are and what you're feeling. The act of verbalizing what's happening, while difficult, is essential in starting to get the support you need.

Once you've done that, Muse suggests bringing your needs to your boss before trying to form the solution. Putting the burden on yourself to solve everything is probably how you got in this mess to begin with. It might be a difficult conversation, but hopefully you and your boss can work together to give you a break to get back on track.

Of course, anyone who's ever had a crappy job knows how hard that "hopefully" can be, so we want to know how you handle burnout. What strategies do you use to cope with overwhelming work loads? Have you been able to work with your boss to come up with a mutually beneficial solution? If you can't, how do you handle burnout when
your company doesn't have your back
?